2002 Temp Reading

[jessewhittemore]

I have a 1970 2002, replaced radiator, bypassed heater coil and removed guts from the thermostat.....I can be riding along with a normal temp reading on the instrument panel then it just out of no where spike to red....could that be a loose wire or bad ground to the temp guage....anybody have this issue?

[Guest Anonymous]

The temperature gauge has a printed circuit board that has a problem with cracking. If it loses the signal because of the crack the gauge goes bonkers.

I replaced the system with a real temperature gauge that actually gives me the temperature of the returning cool to the radiator in actual degrees F. What a concept a real temperature so I can actually know what is going on. The blue and red gauge is like an idiot lite without a bulb!

Have fun

[M3M3]

no...PUT A TSTAT BACK IN! gutting the tstat effectively bypasses the radiator. there is another open thread on this already today.

[M3M3]

The temperature gauge has a printed circuit board that has a problem with cracking. If it loses the signal because of the crack the gauge goes bonkers.

I replaced the system with a real temperature gauge that actually gives me the temperature of the returning cool to the radiator in actual degrees F. What a concept a real temperature so I can actually know what is going on. The blue and red gauge is like an idiot lite without a bulb!

Have fun

umm, the stock temp gauge is not like an idiot light. if you take it apart you will find temp numbers priinted on the edge. do a search, there are several threads that show the numbers......

[jessewhittemore]

I hear you....but I get tired of buying three to get one that works.....and then they stop working

[jessewhittemore]

Tell me where to get a tstat that works......I have been thru 3 none of which would ever open some of which were used on a dyno and then when I installed them never opened up no matter how hot it got or how many times you burped it.....and by the way that really for sure bypasses the radiator cause the bottom hose never heats up because nothing is going thru there....so I hear what your saying but I get no relief anywhere from anybody except more freight bills and tstat bills....so tag your it!

[M3M3]

i have yet to find one that does not work.

have you actually tested the "inop" ones in hot water to see it not open? you could just have air in the system and the tstats could be fine.

again, gutting a tstat is a bad idea. it allows the coolant to bypass the rad unless you seal shut one of the passages in the tstat.

[Napes]

Jeez, Jesse, you don't say where you get your "inoperative" thermostats, but I guess we'd all like to know, if in fact they do not work as intended.

I've been driving my '02 for 31 years, my wife 14 years in hers, and I've replaced a few t-stats over all those years. Never had a problem. I test them in rising-temperature water, using a good cooking thermometer, to make sure a 71º C t-stat does in fact open at around 160º F.

Try getting one from one of our proven suppliers, like Steve @blunttech.com, Carl Nelson of La Jolla Independent (bimmerdoc.com), or BavAuto.

Bob Napier

[02Les]

Here you go.

umm, the stock temp gauge is not like an idiot light. if you take it apart you will find temp numbers priinted on the edge. do a search, there are several threads that show the numbers......

[jessewhittemore]

Ok so I get it that everybody wants the tstat back in.....mean while my question remains has anybody had problems with the needle on the temp guage moving around randomly while in motion and when I put my head lights on.....wondering if it is even reading right or a loose ground that I can check....mainly because there is no appreance of potential overheating even if the guage is very near red.

[02Les]

Top right of this page is Site Search.

This is what it yields.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/60/61?cx=partner-pub-2478521489155222%3Aeolm2n-2i1w&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=temp+gauge+bouncing&sa=Search&siteurl=www.bmw2002faq.com%2Fcontent%2Fview%2F60%2F61%2F&ref=www.bmw2002faq.com%2F&ss=5375j1903257j19

[Napes]

Quite possibly a grounding requirement at the back of the guage. Go to the Site Search above and look for "Temp Guage Grounding". Some of the posts there have excellent pictures of what you probably need to do.

Bob Napier

[jessewhittemore]

Thanks Bob I appreciate that.....I know put the tstat back in....